Expanding land anchor



Feb; 1, 1944.

F. w. AIKEN 2,340,447

EXPANDING LAND ANCHOR Filed Feb. 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY.

F. w. AIKEN 2,340,447

EXPANDING LAND ANCHOR Filed Feb. 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 84 W]! W "If? g g .96 a vol, 96 20 20 Z I:

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 1, 1944 EXPANDING LAND ANCHQR Frank W. Aiken, Moberly, Mo., assignor of' one.-

haifzto .IohnEarl Koester, Moberly,.M0.-

Applicationllebruary 10, 1941", SerialyNo.,3'78,257

41 Claims.

so positioned that the major: pulling force exert ed against the flukes will be transmitted directiv to the body member and not tothe pivot-pins.

A further object of the invention is theprovision of an expanding anchor having means whereby itis adaptedtobecarried and positioned by a jet pipe which directsa hydraulic-jet toremove the earth from beneath the descending anchor;

Other objects are economy and. durability of construction, ease and speed of settingand" removing and. adaptability for use under varying earth conditions and anchoring requirements.

With. these as Well as other objects which will appear during the course ofithe-specification. in View, reference will be had to the drawings wherein:

Figure l is an elevation of an expanding land anchor: partly broken away with the reclaiming cable omitted and with the flukes extended in dotted lines, embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to that shown in Fig. 1 with the anchor turned through a 90 angle.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the anchor with the flukes shown extended in dotted lines and with the reclaiming cable omitted.

Fig. 4 is a vertical central section. of the an.-.- chor taken on line IV--IV, of Fig. 2 with. the rod and nut removed and the cable shown in this operative position and with the upper wings. removed.

Fig, 5 is a modified form of the anchor showing but one pair of dukes and with the driving tube in position thereon.

Fig. 6 is a vertical central section taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a reduced vertical central section of the body member shown in Fig. 6 with the chains substituted for the cables.

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of an anchor slightly modified to receive a jet pipe for positioning it in, theearth.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional View taken on line IX.IX of Fig. 8.

Throughout the several views like reference characters designate similar parts and the. nu.- meral [2 indicates an elongated body member, pointed atits one end toform, a pilot M for driving into the earth. This pilot is shown as, rectangular in crossesectional area, however. they may be varied in design so long as theupper portion thereof ismade of sufiicient area to DIO- tectthe more delicate portions of the anchor, as it is being driven into the earth.

The elongated. body member is transversely iooyed at its opposite sides at [6 to receivethe pintel ears l8. of, flukes. or wings 20. Each fluke is provided with a pair of ears i 8. which are spaced apart to straddle the body portion 22 of the body member l2.

The, ears 5 are provided with axially aligned holes 24; which, are adapted to receive the end portions of] pivot 26 which pass through opening 28 in the body portion 22. This opening 28 is preferably made of a size suitable to present a drive fitfor pivot 26 to secure the pivot against longitudinal movement therein. The ears 18 are formed as shown in Fig. 2. with ofiset portions to produce shoulders 30 which serve to contact shoulders 32 formed inbody member I2 to limit the pivotal opening movement of the respective flukes. Furthermore, the fluke is so bifurcated to. form the ears l8. that the end wall 34 of the slot contacts the body 22 to also limit the opening movement of the fluke. When so constructed and positioned, it is very apparent that the force exerted against the fluke when it is in the operative position will be exerted against the body member and that very little of the force will be exerted against the pivot 26..

The fiukes of the lower pair just described are disposed in opposed relation so that they will rest against the opposite sides of the body member when they are in the closed position such as they take when being driven into the earth. When they are moved to the operating or holding position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, they are extended to present a maximum of re-v sistance to, the lifting of the anchor from its buried position.

Anqther pair of flukes similarly related are positioned intermediate the first described pair and the outer end of the body member. These flukes are mounted with their, ears is positioned in Slots 36. and are disposed at right. angles to the fiukes therebelow. It is quite apparent that other pairs of flukes of similar construction might be added to the anchor, thus increasing its resistance to an outwardly pulling force. While the four flukes shown, are disposed at 90 angles, relative to the adjacent flukes, yet it is apparent that the angled relation might be varied to any desired degree.

The upper end portion of body member I2 is downwardly tapered and is provided with a transverse rectangular opening 38 suitable for receiving a nut 40 which will be held against rotation therein. The upper portion of the body member is substantially planar at 42 and is provided with an upwardly extending cylindrical-shaped boss M through which is formed an opening 46 to receive a threaded rod or stake 48. adapted to be screw-threaded into nut 40 and serves for driving the anchor in certain instances and also for extending above the earths surface to receive securing ropes or cables.

The boss 44 is adapted to receive a pipe 53, as shown in Fig. 5, for driving the anchor to the operative position. This driving means is utilized when the anchor is provided with flexible cable 52, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. After the anchor is driven the driving tube 56 is removed and the parts to be anchored are attached to the cable which extends above the earths surface.

The cable 52, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, extends through opening38 thence along the side of the body member 12 through opening 54 formed through the pilot l4 and thence back through opening 56 and upwardly along the side of body member !2. This cable is usually made of wire strands sothat when it is thus threaded through the openings, as just described, it will resist slippage in the body member so that any desired amount of pull can be exerted on either end of the cable.

The end 58 of cable 52 serves as the guy cable to take the strain of the upward pulling force for anchoring of the member being held in position.

Cable 52 is adapted for use with the anchor forms shown in Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, and the end portion 60 thereof serves as a reclaiming cable to upend the anchor so that it can be drawn from the earth with the flukes in the collapsed position. When it is desired to remove the anchor from the ground, cable end 58 is slackened and a pulling force is exerted on cable end 68 and since this portion of the cable is anchored to the pilot end of the body member, it will reverse the ends of the body member so that the anchor can be removed from the ground. When cable 52 is used with the anchor, rod 48 and nut 40 are left oil, also, the upper pair of fiukes 2d are removed to prevent interference with the cables and to also facilitate easier rotation of the body members on its transverse axis. In some instances only one of the fiukes of the upper pair will be removed and the one opposite the cables will be left in position to increase the resistance due to the upward pull against cable 58. When the ca-. ble is threaded through the body member as shown in Figure 4 slippage of the cable in the body member will be resisted when the required force'is applied to either portion 58 or 6E] thereof.

The modified form, shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is a general purpose anchor with but two fiukes oppositely disposed and mounted in a, fore-shortened body member 62, transversely grooved at 64 to receive the fluke-hinge members, the pilot portion 65 being provided with transverse openings This rod is B8 and H1 and the upper portion of the body member being provided with a transverse opening 12. The upper portion 14 of the body member is substantially planar in form and is provided with an outwardly extending boss 16 over which pipe 50 is adapted to be fitted during the driving operation.

The cable 52 is threaded through the body member as just described, relative to Fig. 4, and functions in like manner.

The modified form, shown in Fig. '7, is substantially identical with that shown in Figs. 5 and 6, with the exception that a, separate guy chain 18 connected by a clevis 86 to the body member 62 serves'as the anchoring member while the chain 82 attached to the lower point of the body member serves as a retrieving member.

The modified form, shown in Figs. 8 and 9 is especially adapted for use in river-beds, soft soil;

etc., and is adapted to be positioned by means of a jet pipe 534, having a collar 86 adjacent its lower end which is adapted to rest against an eye member 88 which projects from the side of the body member 62. This eye, as clearly shown in Fig. 9, has a pair of parallel free ends which serve as pivots for the flukes 2e It will be noted that the end of the jet pipe 84 extends slightly below the eye member 88 so that when the stream of water, or stream is forced through 84 it will clear away the soil or sand below the anchor member and as the jet pipe is moved downwardly the collar 86 resting against eye member 88 will also move the anchor downwardly. After it has attained the desired depth the jet pipe is removed and by placing a tension on the guy cable 90 the flukes 20 will be caused to open and the sand or soil will settle thereabove to form a definite anchorage of the fiukes. With the cable 90 positioned as shown through the body member, it is apparent that the line of pull will be directly on the center line of the anchor.

A reclaiming cable 92 passes through the opening 94 formed transversely through the pilot of of the body member and is clamped together by means of member 96; ,This reclaiming cable is operable to upset the anchor so that the pilot end of the anchor is turned upwardly during the removal from the operative position.

It will be noted that cable 92 is so attached'to the anchor at its center line that the line of the cable during the retrieving operation will be in axial alignment with the body of the anchor, thus reducing the resistance of the anchor to the removal operation to a minimum. It is quite apparent that various arrangements of the guy cables and reclaiming cables might be had without departing from the general functioning of the device. Furthermore, the number and arrangement of the flukes relative to the body member may be varied so long as they function to close during the driving operation and to open as the guy cable exerts suihcient upward pull on the body member. 7

Having thus described my invention what is desired to be covered by Letters Patent is:

al movement to said body member during the full operation of said anchor, at flexible cable secured to said pilot end portion of the body member and to the other end of said body member.

3. In an expanding land anchor an elongated body member, a plurality of fiukes hingedly carried by said body member in spaced apart relation for free movement from a position substantially parallel with said body to a position transversely thereto, and a cable having a retrieving portion secured to the end portion of said body member below said flukes, and having an anchoring portion engaging the other end of said body member above said flukes.

4. A device of the character described, an elongated body member having its lower end portion tapered and provided at its two opposite sides with a fluke hinged at its lower extremity to the lower portion of said body member above said tapered end, and an operating cable secured intermediate its ends to said body member below said flukes.

FRANK W. AIKEN. 

